Try to remove your M.2 SSD and see if your HDD works. If you have an existing and working HDD and are certain that the SATA port you use for the HDD is not affected by the M.2 slot as per your motherboard’s manual, it could signal a possible hardware issue. If your HDD or SSD (non M.2) that uses the SATA port is brand new and have not been initialized yet, it won’t show up in the “This PC” file explorer in Windows 11 or Windows 10.įor new HDD or SSD to show up in Windows, you need to first initialize it, then format and partition it, so that it can be visible to Windows.įor a guide on how to do so, read: How to Format New SSD Drive in Windows 10 (Applicable to normal HDD). If you’re already using a SATA port that doesn’t share the same lane with M.2 Refer to the manual of your own motherboard model. The manual in the screenshot above is only for Asrock B450 Steel Legend motherboard.ĭifferent motherboards have different lanes sharing between M.2 sockets and SATA ports.

This screenshot is just an example of what you should look for in your own motherboard manual. Therefore, when a M.2 SSD is installed onto M2_2 slot, both SATA3_3 and SATA3_4 cannot be used. In the example above, M2_2 shares bandwidth with both SATA3_3 and SATA3_4. If either one of them is in use, the others will be disabled. The screenshot below is an example of what you would normally see from a motherboard’s manual regarding the sharing of lanes between M.2 slots and SATA ports. Most motherboard manufacturers will have a soft copy version of manual available for download from their websites. If you do not have a manual, try to search for it online (using the model of your motherboard as keyword). Check your motherboard manual for further information and instructions. To solve it, you may need to switch your HDD to a different SATA port that does not share the same lane with the M.2 slot.

As to why HDD suddenly disappeared after installing M.2 SSD, the answer is pretty straightforward – You may be using SATA slots on your motherboard that won’t work if certain M.2 slot is in used.

Pc not recognizing new ssd